Redemption Song (1980)
.
Old pirates, yes they rob I
– sold I to the merchant ships;
minutes after they took I
from the bottom-less pit.
But my hand was made strong
by the hand of the Almighty;
we forward in this generation
– triumphantly..Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
’cause all I ever had: redemption songs, redemption songs..
Emancipate yourself from the mental slavery;
none but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
’cause none o’ them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets
while we stand aside and look? (ouuuu!)
Some say it’s just a part of it;
we’ve got to fulfill the Book.Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
’cause all I ever had: redemption songs, redemption songs….
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Woah! have no fear for atomic energy,
’cause none o’ them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets
while we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it’s just a part of it;
we’ve got to fulfill the Book.Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
’cause all I ever had: redemption songs.
All I ever had: redemption songs.
(These songs of freedom, songs of freedom!)

. . .400 years, 400 years, 400 years…Wo-o-o-o,
And it’s the same philosophy.
I’ve said it’s four hundred years, 400 years, 400 years…Wo-o-o-o,
Look, how long!
And the people they still can’t see.
Why do they fight against the poor youth of today?
And without these youths, they would be gone, all gone astray.
.
Come on, let’s make a move, make a move, make a move…Wo-o-o-o,
I can see time, the time has come.
And if a-fools don’t see, fools don’t see, fools don’t see…Wo-o-o-o,
I can’t save the youth.
But the youth is gonna be strong!
So, won’t you come with me?
I’ll take you to a land of liberty
Where we can live – yes, live a good, good life,
And be free.
.
Look how long! (400 years, 400 years, 400 years…)
Way too long! (Wo-o-o-o…)
That’s the reason my people, my people can’t see.
Said: it’s four hundred long years (400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o)
Give me patience – and it’s the same philosophy.
.
It’s been 400 years, 400 years, 400 years…
Wait so long! Wo-o-o-o,
How long?
400 long, long years…

Stiff-necked Fools (1980/1983)
.
Stiff-necked fools, you think you are cool
To deny me for simplicity.
Yes, you have gone for so long
With your love for vanity now.
Yes, you have got the wrong interpretation
Mixed up with vain imagination.
.
So take Jah Sun, and Jah Moon,
And Jah Rain, and Jah Stars,
And forever, yes, erase your fantasy, yeah!
.
The lips of the righteous teach many,
But fools die for want of wisdom.
The rich man’s wealth is in his city;
The righteous’ wealth is in his Holy Place.

So take Jah Sun, and Jah Moon,
And Jah Rain, and Jah Stars,
And forever, yes, erase your fantasy, yeah!
Destruction of the poor is in their poverty;
Destruction of the soul is vanity, yeah!
.
So stiff-necked fools, you think you are cool
To deny me for simplicity, yeah!
Yes, you have gone, gone for so long
With your love for vanity now.
.
But I don’t wanna rule ya!
I don’t wanna fool ya!
I don’t wanna school ya,
Things you might never know about!
.
Yes, you have got the wrong interpretation
Mixed up with vain imagination…
Stiff-necked fools, you think you are cool
To deny me for, ooh-ooh, simplicity!

. . .
Stiff-necked Fools: Marley has used phrases from The Bible in this song, particularly Proverbs 10, verses 15 and 21.

“Redemption Song”, from Bob Marley and The Wailers final studio album (1980), was unlike anything Marley had recorded previously. There is no reggae in in it, rather it is a kind of folksong / spiritual and just him singing with an acoustic guitar. The exhortation to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds” was taken directly from a famous speech that fellow Jamaican and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey gave in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1937. Garvey published the speech in his Black Man magazine. He had said: “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind…” Bob Marley was born on this day, February 6th, in 1945. He developed cancer in 1977 but for three years did not seek treatment because of his Rastafarian beliefs; was the illness perhaps Jah’s will? He died in 1981, at the age of 36.

At Marley’s funeral Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga eulogized him thus: “His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was “an experience” – which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.”

.

Robert Nesta ‘Bob’ Marley

“Redemption Song”

.

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs.

.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
‘Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?

Ooo,
Some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfil The Book.
.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs.
.
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Woah, have no fear for atomic energy,
‘Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfil The Book.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs,

Yes, all I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.